In 2025, fire departments serving Midvale responded to 169 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
747 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 139 | — | |
| 2022 | 118 | -15.1% | |
| 2023 | 146 | +23.7% | |
| 2024 | 175 | +19.9% | |
| 2025 | 169 | -3.4% |
For the 25 building fires Midvale departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 173 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 32 | 18.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 26 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 16 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 13 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Other | 11 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 50 | 28.9% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Midvale mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 86 | 49.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 17 | 9.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 14 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 6 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Candle | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 8.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Midvale departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 87% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $60,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $16,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Midvale sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 299,628 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Natural | 44,345 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 31,010 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 22,045 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Firearms and explosives use | 16,267 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 16,116 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 15,330 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 14,293 | 36.3 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 13,926 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,584 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Firearms and explosives use | 9,880 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 9,000 | 13.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 8,906 | 36.6 mi |
Top 7 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Utah cities with population within ±25% of Midvale. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.